LUCKNOW: Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad has planned a nationwide stir from December 6 to seek the release of incarcerated Dalit leaders who have been booked in fake cases.
Making the announcement about the agitation, Azad said on Thursday in Muzaffarnagar that scores of Dalit and Bhim Army leaders were booked for various crimes including vandalism, violence and arson during April 2 Bharat Bandh, called against Supreme Court's order over SC/ST Act.
"National Security Act (NSA) was also invoked against a number of Bhim Army members," he stated. In order to drum up support for proposed December 6 agitation, Azad has been meeting leaders of various Dalit organisations.
He met Upkar Bawra, district chief of Bhim Army and also Vikas Median, a member of Shaheed Udham Singh Sena, said a source.
Azad said that protests would commence in Muzaffarnagar on December 1 to set the tone for the nationwide-stir on December 6. He claimed that their members were not involved in the violence that erupted during the April 2 bandh and maintained that "outsiders" had indulged in acts of violence.
Azad, who was jailed under the NSA for his alleged role in fomenting caste violence in Saharanpur in May 2017, was set free by Uttar Pradesh government two months prior to his scheduled release on November 1, 2018.
On June 8 last year, Azad was arrested by Saharanpur police and special task force of UP police. The Allahabad HC had granted him bail on November 2 in four cases but the state government immediately slapped NSA on him extending his stay in jail.